Wyse does a cloud on the desk for iPad, iPhone

$1/month to fondleslab all your stuff - ahead of iCloud

Wily Wyse is offering software and a service that turns your desktop computer into a networked storage system for Apple's hand-held gadgets.

Using PocketCloud v2.2, iPad, iPod Touch and iPhones "see" the PC as a storage vault of files, which they can read from and write to. The store can be a Windows PC, a virtual machine or a Mac.

With the software you can access "a cloud, your PC, Remote Desktop Services, a Terminal Server, VMware View or virtual machine" from your hand-held gadget while you're out and about but within reach of an internet connection. The access relies on Microsoft's RDP protocol, and PocketCloud is VMware View 4.0-certified. It supports View 4.0's connection broker in direct and tunneling modes.

Yes, it's true, you will be paying to access your own files on your own PC. If you, as a remote user, need secure access to your PC, the PocketCloud can provide it. How it will stack up against Apple's coming iCloud remains to be seen.

It costs $1/month, which is not a lot. You can download it from iTunes for free. A business version with support for multiple computer connections costs $14.99. A version for Android also exists. ®